Embodiments of the present invention relate in general to biopsy devices, and more particularly to biopsy devices having a cutter for severing tissue, and even more particularly to biopsy devices for multiple sampling with a probe remaining inserted.
During a core needle biopsy, a small tissue sample may be removed, allowing for a pathological assessment of the tissue, including an assessment of the progression of any cancerous cells that are found. The following patent documents disclose various core biopsy devices and are each incorporated herein by reference in their entirety: U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,862, issued Aug. 14, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,522, issued May 15, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,055, issued May 8, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,462, issued Sep. 19, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,544, issued Jul. 11, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,230, issued Jun. 20, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,316, issued Jan. 25, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,497, issued Dec. 28, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,469, issued Nov. 9, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,716, issued Oct. 12, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,164, issued Jul. 27, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,333, issued Jul. 7, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,086, issued Jun. 23, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,547, issued Jul. 22, 1997; U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,822, issued Jun. 18, 1996; and U.S. Pub. No. 2003/0199753, published Oct. 23, 2003 to Hibner et al.
Some biopsy devices may be regarded as “long stroke” or “short stroke.” For instance, several “short stroke” biopsy devices are described in the following published patent applications: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/676,944 (U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0215921), entitled “Biopsy Instrument with Internal Specimen Collection Mechanism,” filed Sep. 30, 2003 in the name of Hibner et al.; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/732,843, (U.S. Pub. No. 2004/0153003), entitled “Biopsy Device with Sample Tube,” filed Dec. 10, 2003 in the name of Cicenas et al. The disclosure of each of those published patent applications is incorporated by reference herein. In some embodiments, the cutter is cycled across the side aperture, reducing the sample time. Several alternative specimen collection mechanisms are described that draw samples through the cutter tube, which may allow for taking multiple samples without removing the probe from the breast.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/953,834, entitled “Biopsy Apparatus and Method” to Hibner et al., filed Sep. 29, 2004 (U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0074345), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, tissue samples are drawn by vacuum proximally through the cutter tube into a serial tissue stacking assembly that preserves the order of sample taking, that can be visually observed through a transparent lumen, and that serves as a transport container to take for a pathology examination. Yet another biopsy device is disclosed in co-pending U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/869,736, entitled “Biopsy System” to Hibner et al., filed Dec. 13, 2006, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Additional sample storage devices are disclosed in co-pending U.S. Patent Appln. Ser. No. 60/874,792, entitled “Biopsy Sample Storage” to Hibner et al., filed Dec. 13, 2006, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Still more sample storage devices are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/782,963, entitled “Trigger Fired Radial Plate Specimen Retrieval Biopsy Instrument” to Garrison, filed on even date herewith, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
While a variety of tissue storage devices has been made and used, it is believed that no one prior to the inventor has made or used a device as recited in the present claims.